Focus on Faith

"If you would like to destroy pride, become humble. If you would like to become humble, be grateful. Practice gratitude."

This weekend we celebrate the third Sunday in Advent. One of the few times of the year that we see a unique color used in the liturgy, namely rose.

It is an established fact that a pre-marriage preparation program enhances the probability of a successful marriage. Researchers report it statistically. Counselors and social workers know it empirically. Even the State of Minnesota acknowledges this. Divorces are a burden on the state, and to reduce them a discount is given on the fee for a marriage license for couples that show proof of participation in a pre-marriage program.

The word Advent means “coming,” and today’s liturgical texts focus on the coming of Jesus Christ — to be more precise, on multiple comings of Christ. Advent is about a lot more than Christmas.

Q) I was talking with a friend the other day, and she started saying negative things about Jesus and the Church. I knew that what she was saying wasn’t true. I didn’t say anything, but feel like I should have. I just feel so badly for not speaking up. Was that wrong?

This is the message of the first reading and holy Gospel for the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time. The timing of this proclamation is not accidental. It comes one week before the feast of Christ the King, and the subsequent start of Advent one week later.

Jesus is the greatest of all marriage counselors. His advice is simple and straightforward: “Love one another as I love you” (Jn 15:12). His example reveals the high road and the preferred choices for couples as they make the journey of married life together.

What brings people into the Church? What drives a person who is not Catholic to convert to Catholicism? I doubt it’s the result of a convincing argument. What brings someone who is Catholic but has stopped practicing the faith back to the Church? This last question, I can answer partially from my own experience.